The Only Document Written In Jesus’ Own Hand
(Allegedly)
One of the most confounding parts of the legacy of Jesus Christ is the fact that he never wrote anything. Everything that Jesus taught was done verbally, and it was only later that his teachings were written down. This isn’t unusual for the time period. Many people were illiterate, and oration was a much more respected art than writing. Still, the lack of written content from Jesus himself has been a source of frustration, confusion, and bewilderment throughout the ages.
Unbeknownst to most people, there is one relic that claims to be the only surviving piece of writing allegedly done in Jesus’s own hand. (Though it is possible that other such writings existed. If they did exist, they have subsequently been lost to time.) If authentic, this would represent the only thing that we have supposedly written by Jesus himself.
The writing is found in the form of a letter sent to a man by the name of King Abgar V. King Abgar was described by Tacitus as a King of the Arabs, and he lived during the time of Jesus. Abgar died in 50 CE which means he would have been in the prime of his life at the same time that Jesus was conducting his ministry in Judea.
Remarkably, both letters survive in their entirety. We have the letter sent by King Abgar to Jesus and Jesus’s own reply.
